


everything means nothing

by g0ldendays



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-08-20 18:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20232028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0ldendays/pseuds/g0ldendays
Summary: Charles is a royal mess - Pierre doesn't know.





	everything means nothing

**Author's Note:**

> You'd think I've never actually held a conversation by the way I write dialogue but I'm just really fuckin' bad at dialogue. Hope you enjoy the story anyway! The plot is all over the place and it's a bit of a mess but it was fun to write. I'm so glad I finally finished it sdjfksj
> 
> Just your regular disclaimer: this is all fiction, I don't associate with anyone mentioned in this story nor do I think any of the people mentioned are actually as I portrayed them. It was just a lot of fun to write!

> _everything means nothing_
> 
> _if I can't have you_

If there was one thing Charles hated, it was holidays. To any regular person, holidays probably sounded like a fantastic time and a good opportunity to take some time off and enjoy it in a foreign country. Maybe sipping cocktails on the beach or exploring little towns. But for Charles, holidays were even worse than his day-to-day life. To be fair, he didn’t have the most difficult life but sometimes the palace walls felt restraining. He couldn’t go anywhere without security and even a spontaneous trip to the supermarket was near impossible. All of that scrutiny and attention was amplified tenfold whenever they went on a family vacation. Every visit, every dinner had to be documented for the magazines and the papers.

Press camped outside the palace doors pretty much 24/7, just hoping for a glimpse of any one of them. Lorenzo had always taken it in stride and Arthur was too cheerful to be bothered. It was really only Charles who had to be told to smile for the press, to not look like he was three seconds from contemplating murder. Fine, so he had a case of resting bitch face, that wasn’t exactly his fault.

“Maman, my hair is fine,” Charles protested as his mother tried to smooth out his unruly hair. She tutted at him and moved on to Arthur. It was a familiar ritual, and Charles wasn’t as annoyed as he might have seemed. Only Lorenzo had put effort into making his hair look decent and as per usual, Charles and Arthur hadn’t bothered. They were taking the private jet to their vacation home in France. It was well known by now and the press would have no trouble finding them and documenting their entire holiday. It was, in essence, just packing up the whole circus and moving it to France for a month. Only with a bit less personnel.

Charles caught Arthur rolling his eyes when maman wasn’t looking and putting his hair right back to the state of disarray it had been in. Lorenzo gave him a disapproving look but Arthur either didn’t see it or didn’t care. “Ready?” maman asked and all three of them nodded. Their suitcases were already on their way to the vacation home in France so it was only a short trip to the airport for now, no luggage to carry.

* * *

As always, the vacation home in France was beautiful, though it had nothing on Monte Carlo. Charles did love his home, considered it his favorite place on Earth. As much as he despised the palace sometimes, it would always remain home to him. They’d arrived after dinner so there wasn’t much left to do than read a book and watch some TV as the evening closed in. Charles was already bored out of his mind and he had four more weeks to go. Sighing as he retreated to his room for the evening, Arthur taking the next room, a plan had started to form in his mind. Maybe this summer didn’t have to be so boring.

It was already dark outside when Charles very quietly closed his bedroom door behind him. It was a good thing he didn’t share with Arthur anymore - to be fair, they hadn’t shared a room since they were ten - because Arthur was a very light sleeper and Charles was awful at being quiet. It wasn’t even that late yet, only around eleven, but the house was pretty much empty. Security was down to a minimum at night and Charles had spotted an unguarded window on his previous rounds. Thankfully it was still unguarded and there were no guards to be seen. As quietly as possible, Charles opened the window and climbed out. He was on the ground floor so it really wasn’t that difficult and it made him a bit uneasy that it was this easy to leave the house. This would never be possible in Monaco.

The garden was huge and walled off with hedges, but thanks to his previous holidays here, Charles knew there was a little gate for the gardener to come and go as he pleased. And it wasn’t like there was press camped outside the garden at eleven in the evening. Charles had never been the rebel child - he usually left that to Arthur and even his little brother wasn’t that rebellious - so this was quite wild for his standards. There was no one to stop him as he opened the creaking little gate and took off. It was a Thursday evening, so the town was far from abandoned, and it was still quite early. Perfect for going out.

Despite the fact that Charles didn’t know anyone in the city, he was still determined to go out and have a good time. So he found the nearest bar and showed his ID just long enough for the bouncer to see he was old enough to get in, but not to read his last name. That would’ve been a real disaster, imagine the field day the press would have with it. It’s not that the princes didn’t get to enjoy themselves from time to time, but it usually happened during parties at the palace where they were easily carted off to their rooms if they did anything remotely embarrassing, like getting on a table to sing along to Beyonce and dance like his life depended on it. Maybe Charles had had a bit too much alcohol that evening, but it had been fun nonetheless (though Lorenzo had disagreed).

Everyone at the bar was either too drunk to care or didn’t recognize him and Charles let out the breath he’d been holding since he had stepped inside. Nodding his head to the music as he ordered a drink, he spotted some people already well on their way to get drunk despite it being before midnight, still. He had just finished his first drink when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to the dance floor. It was only when he turned around that he looked into a very surprised face. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else,” the guy, whose hand was still on Charles’ shoulder, yelled over the music. That could’ve been the end of it.

But Charles was a bit blown away by the whole ordeal and where he would normally be a bit annoyed to be pushed around, he now found that he didn’t mind so much. The guy was quite strikingly handsome. A jawline to die for and blue eyes that, even in the dark environment of the bar, seemed exceptionally bright. Charles waved his hand. “It’s fine,” he replied.

“What?” And suddenly, there was a face close to his own. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“I said it’s fine!” Charles said loudly, raising his voice to make himself clear. That got him a chuckle and a beautiful smile. “I don’t mind being mistaken for someone else. Buy me a drink?” Sure, it was very forward but there was nothing to lose. Okay, there was a lot to lose if his identity were to be exposed, but that was something he’d worry about another day.

“I guess a drink can’t hurt while I look for my friend.” Charles didn’t see as much as feel the sudden loss of contact as the guy disappeared in the crowd, only to return moments later with some brightly colored cocktail in hand. “You look like you drink cocktails,” the guy commented as he pressed the glass into Charles’ hand.

“Is that meant to offend me?”

“Not at all! Nothing beats a good, fruity cocktail to get drunk off your ass on a fine Thursday night such as this.” Charles chuckled. “And you look-”

Charles didn’t get to find out how he looked because their conversation was cut short by another hand landing on his shoulder. But this time when he turned around, it was the much less welcome face of Antonio, one of the palace’s security guards who had come with the family to France. Shit. He was really busted now. “Charles,” Antonio said, narrowing his eyes. He’d probably had a few drinks but not enough to forget his duties, despite being off duty. Before Antonio could do anything else, like snatching the cocktail from his hand, Charles downed it in one go. Antonio’s face soured, and as he firmly gripped Charles’ wrist to drag him out of there, Charles barely got the chance to say bye to the pretty guy who had bought him that cocktail. A shame, really.

“I hope to God you’re not drunk,” Antonio sighed as soon as they were outside. “What were you thinking?” Charles didn’t care much to stick around and be scolded like a child, so he shrugged and started the walk back to the vacation home just outside of town. “No, there’s no way you’re walking back by yourself. Anything could’ve happened.”

“I’m fine, aren’t I? Besides, aren’t you off duty?” Charles’ mood had soured considerably since his entire plan of going out and having some fun had just been foiled thoroughly by his friend slash security guard.

“Doesn’t mean Lorenzo won’t have my head if I let you walk back by yourself. I can’t imagine what scolding the on duty guards will be getting if Lorenzo finds out you left the house,” Antonio muttered. They walked back in silence, but that, sadly, wasn’t the end of it. Of course someone had noticed he wasn’t in bed and as a result, the entire house was up and awake at one in the morning as Charles and Antonio returned to the house. Thankfully, maman and Arthur were still in bed. His little brother would’ve laughed at him to no end and maman would’ve been so disappointed. But it was just Lorenzo and while Charles hated disappointing his older brother, it could’ve been worse. He wasn’t even drunk.

“I’m fine,” Charles argued, and not for the first time, he wished he was just a regular guy who wasn’t in need of security at all times.

While Lorenzo didn’t dismiss any of the guards, he made it very clear that under no circumstance were they to leave Charles alone. “In the morning, I’m assigning you someone personally,” Lorenzo said darkly and his tone didn’t leave any room for arguing. “Now, go to bed.”

After that misadventure of sneaking out and getting caught, Charles had been assigned a personal security guard, much to his own chagrin. He hated being watched like a child that shouldn’t be allowed to walk on his own. He was 21, not 2. But Lorenzo had insisted and Mick, his new personal security guard, was never more than two steps behind Charles. It was annoying, even more so because Mick was incredibly cheerful and didn’t seem to mind babysitting a fully grown adult. What made it even worse was the fact that Mick was actually younger than Charles, but had been deemed more than capable to keep an eye on the prince. Arthur teased Charles about it almost non-stop, until a stern look from maman told him to cut it out.

“Look, I can drive myself to the supermarket perfectly fine,” Charles said, a frown set between his eyebrows and wrinkling his forehead.

Mick looked unimpressed. “I’m sure you can, but I get paid to drive you in the name of security. Besides, you guys get the best delivery service in the entire country. Why do you need to go to the supermarket?”

“Because!” Charles knew he sounded like a petulant child. “Fine, never mind.” Okay, he was definitely acting like a child but if Lorenzo was going to assign him a babysitter, he’d act like he needed one. To Mick’s credit, he didn’t even sigh at Charles’ behavior. Perhaps it helped that the two of them went way back, even to their childhood. Mick’s father was a big name in the security business and Mick had followed in his footsteps, tagging along with his father since he had learned to walk. It helped that he was a damn good security guard and also a friend to Charles, despite being paid to guard him.

“You know you’re acting like you’re five years old, right?” Mick said dryly. “Actually, you weren’t even that bad when you were five. So I’ve been told, at least. Not like I remember that time, since I was four.”

“Can I at least go for a walk in the garden? On my own? Or am I considered at risk of fleeing the country?” Mick chuckled and held open the back door. “Thank you,” Charles said sarcastically. “I suddenly stopped being able to open a door when I turned twenty-one.” Mick took a mock-bow and closed the door in Charles’ face.

Charles wasn’t so much walking as stomping around the garden. It was pretty, sure, but it was also confining. He wanted nothing more than to get back out there and meet up with the guy again. He hadn’t even gotten his name. He was still pouting when Mick suddenly turned up in front of him. “What?” Charles immediately regretted snapping at his friend when Mick held up a set of car keys. To Mick’s credit, he didn’t mention Charles’ tone nor did he seem downbeat by getting snapped at. Cheerful as ever, he threw Charles the keys.

“I know Lorenzo said I couldn’t let you out of my sight but technically when you’re behind the wheel, you’re still in my sight,” Mick said and Charles could’ve kissed him. Though that might’ve made things a bit weird.

“I could kiss you right now.”

Mick pulled a face. “I’d rather you didn’t. You can buy me some chocolate if we’re really going to the supermarket though.”

Some time later, they found themselves at the local tiny supermarket. Surprisingly, they had a big assortment of chocolate bars so Mick had plenty of choice. Charles was scoping out the croissants and muffins while he waited for Mick to make a decision. “Mick, for Christ’s sake, it’s just a chocolate bar,” he huffed impatiently. Mick was carefully weighing and studying each bar like it was some exact science he had a Master’s degree in.

“It’s not just a chocolate bar,” Mick argued. Charles knew it was pointless to argue with him about the chocolate so he threw some croissants in a bag and walked around the other way to get himself a drink.

It was almost cliché that he ran into the guy he met at the bar the other day. “We really need to stop meeting like this,” Charles chuckled. He did hope the guy recognized him from the bar or else this would be awkward. The guy’s face lit up as he indeed seemed to recognize Charles.

“You again!” he exclaimed. “Your friend seemed mad at you the other day, did everything work out?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, it did. Antonio is a bit overprotective and he thought I’d already had six drinks,” Charles said. The lie came easily, and it wasn’t even that far off from the truth. Antonio was protective but that was because he was paid to be. And he did think Charles had had more than just the two drinks. So in all fairness, it was actually true, but the lie by omission still left a bitter taste in Charles’ mouth for some reason.

“I guess he insisted on walking you home, since I didn’t see you after that,” the guy smiled.

Charles nodded. “He did. Anyway, what are you doing here?” Stupid question, Charles, it was a supermarket. Of course he was getting groceries or something food related.

“Just grabbing some drinks for tonight, really. What about you?”

“Waiting for my friend to decide on a chocolate bar. Knowing him, it could take at least twenty more minutes,” Charles said as he rolled his eyes, ignoring the offended ‘Hey’ from the chocolate isle.

“I just remembered, I haven’t actually introduced myself! I never even caught your name the other day. I’m Pierre Gasly,” the guy said with a bright smile.

“I’m Charles,” Charles introduced himself, barely managing to stop himself from blurting out his last name as well.

“Just Charles?” Pierre chuckled, a glint in his eyes.

“Yep, just Charles.”

“Are you on the run from the police or do you just like to keep your last name to yourself?”

“Eh, who knows,” Charles shrugged but the smile on his face gave him away. “I prefer not to go around and tell everyone I meet in bars and supermarkets my last name.”

“Fair enough,” Pierre nodded. “Well, it’s been nice to meet you and to finally catch your name. Has your friend decided on a chocolate bar yet?”

Charles raised his eyebrows as he checked on Mick. “I guess not. He takes his chocolate very seriously.”

“I’m done!” Mick announced proudly as he showed up at Charles’ side with a chocolate bar in hand. “Caramel and sea salt, milk chocolate. I decided against white chocolate and raspberries, just because it’s too sweet. Who’s this?”

“Pierre,” Charles said at the same time as Pierre extended his hand to Mick with a friendly smile. “This is my friend Mick.” Thank the heavens Mick didn’t comment on it, nor did he regard Pierre as a threat. He just shook Pierre’s hand and introduced himself, also without last name. Mick’s name was, by far, not as famous as Charles’ but if Pierre for some reason were to google, some things would come up that would implicate the both of them. Like old pictures, in front of the palace in Monaco.

“Right, I should get going, my friend’s waiting for me,” Pierre said, his tone almost seeming regretful. “Maybe I’ll see you around!” And with a little wave, he disappeared around the corner.

Charles elected to ignore Mick’s pointed look as he headed for the register. “Don’t you look at me like that,” he warned as Mick was about to open his mouth. “I met him the other day and just ran into him again. That’s all.” Even without looking at Mick, Charles knew he was raising his eyebrows and didn’t buy it for a second. Fine, it was maybe just a little crush but who could blame him? Besides, it’s not like it would ever work out anyway because Charles was a prince and Pierre was not. See, he could be realistic! Maybe he should tell Lorenzo that.

During the week that followed, Charles kept dragging Mick out on the town on multiple occasions but the latter was yet to refuse. Charles suspected he liked being out and about a lot more than being stuck in the Leclerc vacation home all the time, and as long as he kept an eye on Charles it was probably fine. They had run into Pierre more than once, most of them accidentally. Charles refused to admit he only bought Mick so much chocolate because Pierre seemed to find his way to the little supermarket most of the time. He didn’t always have the time to talk to Charles, rushing around more often than not, but he did always say hello.

It had been about a week and a half before they both had the time for a proper chat, Mick in tow as always, as they ran into Pierre in the streets. He didn’t seem in a rush today and he greeted Charles with a bright smile. Mick decided to make himself scarce by popping into the nearest store, while also keeping an eye out for Charles through the shop window. “So, what do you do for a living?” Pierre asked, a friendly smile on his face. “I’m sorry if I’m too curious, it’s in my nature.”

Charles chuckled. “It’s fine, I don’t work for a living at the moment. I study engineering. It’s not really my passion but I had to study something so it was a safe choice. What do you do?” While his counter question sounded mostly polite, Charles really was interested in what Pierre did. They’d never really chatted that much or gotten to know each other aside from a quick wave and hello as they passed each other on the streets.

“Oh, I’m a journalist,” Pierre said, almost sounding a bit embarrassed. “It’s nowhere near as cool as engineering but it pays the bills and I do like it.”

“A journalist?” Charles repeated as he felt his heart skip a beat. His feet felt heavy, almost glued to the ground. The full realization of just how stupid he had been hit him and he suddenly felt like he was about to cry. Of course he’d run into a journalist during his one act of rebellion. And now it would be on display for the entire country to see. Prince Charles of Monaco, big time failure and runaway, all written out in the papers. Surely it would make its way to Monaco within the hour, and he’d have a lot to explain to his family.

Pierre, completely unaware of Charles’ sinking heart, nodded enthusiastically. “I work for the local paper,” he explained with a smile on his face. In any other situation, Charles would’ve been happy to see Pierre loved his work so much, even would’ve been proud. “I mostly do sports columns, reports on the local karting competition or the local tennis club, but I do like the occasional gossip story, too.” A silence fell, a thick one. Charles was starting at him blankly and Pierre was starting to look a bit confused. “Are you okay? You’re looking at me like I’ve got two heads.”

Charles found his voice and nodded. “I’m fine. So, gossip, huh?” It seemed he couldn’t help himself. Why did he always feel the need to tempt faith? He could’ve just left it alone, never mentioned it again. He even could’ve brought up the karting competition - Charles loved karting and he would’ve loved to see the local club, maybe even have a go at it himself. Mick had sensed something was off and had stepped out of the store, now looming behind Charles in case something was up.

Pierre chuckled, seemingly having forgotten about the previous tenseness in the air. “Yeah, when famous people visit. It’s not that it happens often but apparently, some big shot family has been in town this week. I thought I heard someone mention royalty but there’s no way royalty would visit these parts. They’d go to Paris or Lyon. Rouen doesn’t have much in terms of tourism anyway.” And that was that. The weight on Charles’ heart dissipated, but didn’t disappear entirely. It would only take Pierre a minute to google exactly who were in town and that would be it. The careful relationship they had built over the past week would be gone, just like that. And Charles wouldn’t even be able to blame Pierre if that happened.

It crossed his mind, not for the first time, that this would be the time to come clean. Oh hey, remember that I couldn’t tell you my last name? Yeah, it’s Leclerc and I’m actually a prince of Monaco. That wouldn’t go over well. Pierre was an honest guy and he’d even accepted Charles’ secrecy. But straight up lying to him? That would destroy everything. And Charles, selfish as he was, couldn’t have that. Even just this hint of normalcy in the absolute circus that was his life was enough to make him crave more. And for all his flaws, deep down, Charles just wanted a month of being normal. No royalty, no titles, no palace and no security. Just Charles and Pierre. No, he couldn’t tell Pierre, not when he was already in so deep.

“Hey, do you wanna join me and some friends at the beach on Saturday?” Pierre broke through Charles’ train of thought. He felt a very insistent pair of eyes on him. They belonged to Mick, who was still posing as Charles’ friend and not his personal security guard. “Mick, you’re welcome too, of course,” Pierre said cheerfully. “It’s about a one hour drive so we leave around nine from the town square.”

“That’s-”

“A great idea,” Charles interrupted Mick. “We’ll be there!” He could’ve kicked himself right there and then. He almost did, and he was sure Mick would actually kick him in the shins later. Technically, his job wouldn’t allow it but it wasn’t like Charles was going to snitch to Lorenzo about it. That would require also telling Lorenzo about their daily outings and he would not be happy with that.

But it was worth it when Charles was rewarded with another blinding smile from Pierre. “Wait up!” Pierre said as Charles and Mick were about to take off. “Let me give you my number, so you can text me if anything comes up. Or just if you want to chat.” Despite the last sentence seeming like an afterthought, Charles could hear it was an invitation, that he was very much allowed to text Pierre just to chat or share random thoughts. He tried very hard not to turn as red as a tomato at that and, judging by Mick’s face, failed miserably.

“Sure,” Charles said and he handed Pierre his phone to punch in his number. “If you send yourself a text via my phone, you have my number as well.” God, he really did feel like a schoolgirl with a crush but just the thought that he now had Pierre’s number was enough to give him butterflies.

* * *

“You can explain to Lorenzo while we’ll be gone all day on Saturday,” Mick warned him as Charles parked the car back in the garage of the Leclerc vacation home. “You were supposed to attend a party in the evening.”

“I can still make it,” Charles scoffed, turning off the car. “And I’ll figure something out.”

“You’re head over heels for him,” Mick stated but Charles decided this was not a good time to have this conversation. “Yes, I can see you’re not willing to talk about it but you are. And this is only gonna end badly. He’s a journalist, for Christ’s sake.”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Mick,” Charles replied as he undid his seatbelt and handed him back the car keys. He really didn’t want to hear it as much as don’t think about it either. He knew just fine that this wasn’t a problem that went away if you didn’t think about it, but had elected to ignore it. “I really don’t,” he emphasized as Mick opened his mouth again.

“Fine, but as your friend, I gotta tell you it’s a terrible idea,” Mick said with a huff as he got out of the car and left Charles alone with his thoughts. And there were plenty of those to go around. He knew just as well as Mick did that there was no chance it would every work out between him and Pierre, should it even become anything in the first place. Charles was a prince, Pierre was a journalist and they lived miles and miles apart. What did he even know about Pierre, aside from his silly crush? He was a journalist, he liked pandas, he supported the local karting competition, he had a big heart and he always seemed to be cheerful. How was it even possible for someone to be cheerful all the time? Charles sure as hell didn’t know.

God, how was he going to explain this to Lorenzo and maman?

* * *

“So, I’m going to the beach on Saturday,” Charles broke the silence at the dinner table that evening. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him over his mashed potatoes. Maman lowered her fork and Lorenzo frowned.

“We’re hosting a party for important people on Saturday evening,” Lorenzo countered and Charles nodded, a little too eagerly, to show that he hadn’t forgotten.

“I know that, I’ll be back in time before then. Way in time, so I can still change and shower and make myself look presentable.” He kicked Arthur under the table when his younger brother snorted at the word presentable. To Arthur’s credit, he didn’t immediately cry assault as he might’ve done when they were little. He owed him one.

“Who are you even going with?” Arthur said dismissively. “I didn’t know you had friends.” Right, his little brother was still a dick. Charles retracted any previous mental statements he may have made about him owing Arthur one.

“Mick is my friend,” Charles said defensively and even Lorenzo was trying not to chuckle. “Fine, he’s my security guard slash babysitter but he’s also my friend. I’m going with Mick.”

“And does Mick know that?” Arthur looked far too amused by the entire ordeal. “Or is he just going along with it because he gets paid for it?” Charles gave him a nasty look.

“You’re not just bringing one security guard to the beach. Do you know how many people are at the beach?” Lorenzo looked ready to burst into his ‘we’re royalty and we’re always in danger’ speech that Charles had heard a million times before, so he interrupted him before he could really get into it.

“I know, I’m a prince and I should have some regard for my own safety,” Charles repeated in the most bored tone he could muster. “Just send two others with me.”

“Everyone either has the day off on Saturday or they’re working the party,” maman chirped in. “Antonio’s already booked on hallway duty,” she added before Charles could ask the obvious question. “The only ones who aren’t working on Saturday are Juan and Jüri and that’s because they asked for the day off. So unless you can convince them to join you, I’m afraid you’ll have to cancel your plans.” Charles groaned out loud. Juan and Jüri weren’t even that bad, they were friends of Mick’s and Charles got along with them just fine. But they rarely took days off and if they did, they did not like to be disturbed.

Convincing them to spend their day off babysitting a rogue prince at the beach in France was a near Herculean task at this point. He was going to need help.

* * *

“Mick, I beg of you, please convince them to come.” Charles was not above begging at this point. Mick wasn’t impressed. “You can even bribe them!”

“What am I supposed to bribe them with? You’re the royalty here, I’m sure you have more to bribe them with!” Mick shot back and Charles pouted. He did have a point. But there was one thing Mick could offer them that Charles couldn’t.

“You can take their graveyard shifts for the next three months,” he said quickly, as if Mick would kick him any less if he just said it fast. “You know Jüri especially hates those. It’ll convince him, guaranteed! And then Juan will go as well because those two are like peas in a pod.”

“I hate it when you’re making sense,” Mick said, “but know that you owe me big, big time if I have to spend three months taking Jüri’s graveyard shifts patrolling the palace gardens. Those trees look far too human when it’s dark out.”

“I’ll buy you a torch,” Charles promised with a grin and then ducked quickly before Mick’s flying arm hit him in the face. “Don’t damage the face, I still have to impress Pierre on Saturday!”

“He knows your face by now, I’m sure he won’t mind some bruises,” Mick grumbled but he retreated his arm anyway. “And you owe me a lot more than just a torch,” he warned as he dialed Jüri’s number. “Hey, it’s Mick. I need a favor.”

As expected, Jüri wasn’t happy to be asked to give up his free day. Charles could hear him shrieking about vacation and relaxation from a few meters away and he spared a thought for Mick’s ears. In the end, it was the prospect of not having to take the night shifts that convinced Jüri. And Mick was smart enough to mention the fact that they were heading to the beach, so despite watching Charles like a hawk, it was mostly still a day off. And as expected, once Jüri was on board, Juan was easily talked into it as well. Not because of the graveyard shifts, because Mick could only cover so many shifts before running out of hours in a week, but because he promised Juan to pay for his takeout for a month. Well, technically Charles would pay because he owed Mick that much, but Juan didn’t have to know that.

So, they had security covered for Saturday. Charles just had to make it seem like they were friends of his and not, in fact, his personal security guards that were paid to watch his every move. He’d been doing that with Mick for days now and he got along well with both Juan and Jüri, so he didn’t foresee any issues there.

* * *

Arthur looked mildly impressed that he had managed to bribe the two young security guards to join him in the beach adventure. Lorenzo looked like he regretted every single decision that had led up to this moment. Maman looked worried as always. “If you’re sure it’s safe,” Lorenzo said hesitantly after some consideration.

“I cannot believe you convinced Jüri to give up his free day,” Arthur mumbled through his breakfast croissant. He shut his mouth when maman gave him the look that clearly said ‘didn’t I teach you not to talk with your mouth full?’. “I’m not surprised Juan gave in, he’s too close to Jüri. They were probably gonna spend their days off together anyway.”

“No gossiping about the guards,” Lorenzo said offhandedly. “Charles, if any of you sense any danger at all, I want you to come home immediately.”

“Pretty sure that’s maman’s line,” Arthur muttered and then whistled innocently as he got three equally annoyed looks. “And don’t you dare leave me alone at that party, Charles. There’s gonna be old people in suits so you better be there on time to entertain me.”

“I promise I will be back on time to make myself look presentable and make it to the party,” Charles said earnestly. “I’d just really like to have one day where I can feel like a regular guy.” And Lorenzo couldn’t argue with that.

* * *

“For the last time, Jüri, you can’t do a James Bond impression,” Charles overheard Mick say as he approached the three guys waiting for him in the garden. “The point is to not look like security guards guarding the prince of Monaco.”

“But we are security guards guarding the prince of Monaco,” Juan deadpanned.

“Charles, please tell these idiots they have to be inconspicuous if we don’t want to give away the fact that you’re a hotshot prince,” Mick said, pursing his lips.

“What Mick said,” Charles chuckled. “Besides, it’s mostly a beach day and I doubt many French beachgoers know what I even look like. Why would they care about a guy vaguely resembling some Monegasque royalty if it’s hot out and the sea’s right there?”

“Fine, but just know, if you drown, I will kill you myself,” Juan warned him and Jüri nodded with a serious face. “I need this job.”

Charles was touched, really. “We’ve decided we’re taking my car,” Jüri said in a tone that left no room for disagreement. Charles knew he had some old thing that was held together mostly by duct-tape and Jüri’s willpower to refuse to buy a new one and couldn’t help his frown. “It’s safe, trust me. Besides, we can hardly roll up there in some expensive car that looks like it belongs to a millionaire. Which you are, but that’s fine. Mick tried to get us to take his Fiesta but that thing just looks too cheap, you know.”

“Jüri, your car is literally falling apart.”

“One, it’s not. I got duct-tape. Two, we’re posing as broke students so it makes sense. No one will question my car,” Jüri stated. “So, we’re taking my car. Let’s go. And Charles, leave those damn Ray-bans at home. They cost as much as my entire monthly pay, there’s no way you’re passing for a broke student with those on.”

“Fine,” Charles exclaimed. When he got back outside, only Mick was waiting for him.

“Are you really sure this is a good idea?” Mick asked him quietly, looking around to see if Jüri and Juan were arriving with Jüri’s car yet. “You can still text him saying you’re not feeling well. Anyone at that beach might recognize you and blow the whole thing.” Charles felt slight annoyance bubbling up, but he knew Mick was just concerned. He wasn’t only his security guard, but had also become a close friend, and he knew that if this went wrong, Mick would be the one to pick up the pieces.

“I’m not sure,” Charles admitted. “But it’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Jüri honked next to Charles and rolled down his window with a big grin on his face as Charles jumped. Mick, of course, had heard the car coming and hadn’t even flinched. Damn security guard instincts.

“Well, are you ready to party or not?” Juan yelled from the passenger seat.

“Ready to party,” Charles mumbled, feeling anything but as he climbed in the backseat with Mick.

* * *

They met up with Pierre and his friend at the town’s square at five past nine. Well, technically, they could’ve been there earlier but Jüri insisted on driving around the square for ten minutes to scope out any threats. Charles was convinced he was just fucking with them but Juan and Mick went along with it, telling Charles that he didn’t know what he was talking about. On second thought, they were definitely fucking with him. Once they finally parked and got out, Pierre had been waiting for a while.

“Glad you could make it,” Pierre said cheerfully. He didn’t even blink at the fact that Charles had brought more friends than originally planned, clearly a man in a mindset of ‘the more the merrier’. “This is my friend Callum.” Charles recognized him as the guy Pierre had been with a few times as they had run into each other in town and waved a friendly hello. Something flashed in Callum’s eyes, barely noticeable but it was there. It had, however, disappeared before Charles could pinpoint what it was.

“Nice to meet you,” Callum said with a big smile and Charles decided to push his previous thoughts to the back of his mind. “Pierre’s been telling me a lot about you.” Pierre had turned red at that and Charles smiled. “Only good things though, don’t worry.” Charles didn’t doubt it for a second, but he heard Jüri snicker behind him and then a sharp inhale so he guessed Mick had punched him in the arm. “Right, shall we go?” Callum suggested cheerfully, the smile on his face insinuating he hadn’t missed what just happened.

“Yes, great idea,” Juan chirped in from the passenger seat of Jüri’s car. “Before we all turn into statues right here, I’d like to get to the beach and work on my tan.” That earned him an eye roll from Jüri and he shrugged. “Oh, by the way Charles, our car is full.” Which was a fat lie because both Charles and Mick had been sitting in the backseat on the way to the square. “See, bags,” Juan deadpanned, waving in the general direction of the backseat as Jüri took off with a cackle.

“There were no bags in the backseat,” Mick said helpfully, also having been left behind. “I guess we should hitch a ride with Pierre and Callum then.”

* * *

As it turned out, Callum had a very nice car that didn’t look like it could fall apart at any second if he were to hit a pothole so really, Charles was pretty sure they got the better end of whatever prank Juan and Jüri had tried to pull on them. Judging by Mick’s face, they were going to get a stern talking to once they arrived. It was a fun ride so Charles was quite surprised when they pulled up to the beach not even an hour later, Juan and Jüri already waiting for them. Callum was easy to talk to and with Mick around, Charles thankfully hadn’t embarrassed himself in front of Pierre. Yet. The day was still long.

“Hey, didn’t you bring sunglasses?” Pierre asked as they headed towards the beach and Charles was vividly reminded of Jüri sending him back inside to put away his expensive sunglasses.

“No, I forgot them,” he said with a cough, hoping he didn’t look like he was telling a lie. Charles couldn’t lie to save his life. To be fair, he did forget a lot of things so it could’ve been the truth.

“Oh, I brought a spare pair if you want them,” Pierre said cheerfully and he pulled a simple pair of sunglasses out of his bag. “I tend to lose mine a lot so I always buy cheap ones. Don’t worry if you lose them in the ocean.”

“Thank you,” Charles said quietly as he put them on. “That’s very thoughtful of you.” Pierre waved him away with a laugh. Juan had taken off running towards the ocean, waving his arms and yelling, Jüri following him, carrying their bags and rolling his eyes. Charles was next to Pierre and Mick and Callum followed closely behind with the bags.

“Is he always like that?” Pierre asked, looking at Juan, who had reached the ocean and was already splashing around like a toddler in a kiddie pool.

“Yes, yes, he is,” Charles chuckled. “You get used to it.” Sometimes he did wonder how Juan got such a serious job as security guard for the royal family of Monaco, but he knew Juan was very good at his job and took it very seriously when he was on the clock. Off duty, however, was a wholly different story. Just like right now, it shone through that Juan was only 19. And as always, Jüri followed him instantly, pushing him into the water, the two of them wrestling each other before Jüri ended up fully submerged.

* * *

Charles couldn’t remember ever having this much fun. It sounded like a stretch, but he had never done anything like this before, just hang out with friends at the beach, mess around with each other and sing along to loud music. Despite the fact that he was technically paying Mick, Juan and Jüri to be there, it really was hanging out with friends. He strongly doubted the three of them were thinking of today as work. Juan and Jüri got along with Callum like a house on fire and Mick and Pierre had been chatting to each other for a while as Charles played volleyball with the other three.

Out of breath and red-faced, Charles sat down on the towel next to Pierre and Mick. “Hey, what’re you guys talking about?” He caught Pierre’s eye and noticed that the other boy looked completely distracted, eyeing Charles up and down.

“Just things,” Mick said calmly.

“That doesn’t really say anything,” Charles laughed. “Were you gossiping?”

“I need to use the bathroom,” Pierre said, suddenly. “Come with me?” He practically dragged Charles up by his arm and Charles shot Mick a helpless look. Mick didn’t look worried at all and just winked at him. That wasn’t very helpful either.

“Uh, I think the bathrooms are on the other side of the beach houses,” Charles said when he noticed Pierre was dragging him in the wrong direction.

“Shut up,” Pierre mumbled as he pushed Charles against the back of some wooden building. “Please tell me I haven’t got this wrong.”

“You haven’t,” Charles breathed. Was this really happening? Yes, he thought as Pierre pressed his lips against Charles’ and kissed him senseless, it was really happening. It was hot and heavy and just the right kind of perfect.

“You look really hot playing volleyball,” Pierre said, out of breath as he pulled back to give them some room and Charles couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing. “And I’m kind of into you.”

“I should play more volleyball if it gets you this worked up. And I’m into you, too.” He couldn’t lie though, he had gotten pretty worked up himself as well.

“If you want to get jumped in the middle of the beach in front of your friends and little kids, please do,” Pierre suggested and Charles chuckled. “We should actually go to the bathroom before they start wondering where we’ve gone off to. Or before Mick thinks I’ve murdered you and disposed of the body.”

“Your hair-” Charles tried. Pierre just looked at him questioningly and Charles sighed before reaching out. They’d just made out so fixing his hair was hardly anything scandalous, but it still made him blush. “There, all good.” Pierre smirked at him and reached out to fix Charles’ hair.

Mick didn’t say a word as they returned but the glint in his eyes told Charles that he definitely knew what just went down. So did Callum, who had decided to take a break from getting his ass handed to him by Juan and Jüri. Charles had trouble keeping his eyes away from Pierre and judging by the amount of times his eyes met Pierre’s, the feeling was mutual. God, they were acting like teenagers but it just felt right.

For lunch, they all headed up to a little restaurant on the beach. Juan and Jüri stuffed their faces so fast Charles was left wondering what happened to their sandwiches before he spotted the crumbs on Jüri’s shirt, and they were off to play more volleyball. It’s like they never got exercise but Charles personally knew that wasn’t true. Pierre followed them after a long look at Charles, but it wasn’t like they were stuck together. He’d see Pierre later, so he waved him off with a fond look.

“You should tell him,” Callum said quietly as he slotted into the empty place between Charles and Mick on the bench. “He doesn’t know, but he’ll find out eventually. And it will devastate him.” Charles looked at him, flabbergasted, and Mick looked about ready to kick Callum’s ass into next year. “I won’t tell him. Don’t worry, and don’t look at me like you’re gonna break my neck,” Callum chuckled. “You probably could, but there’s no need. I’m just saying he needs to hear it from you before he hears it from someone else.” And he got up and disappeared as soon as he had appeared, probably off to play some more volleyball with Jüri and Juan.

“As much as I want to kick him,” Mick started, “he’s right. All Pierre has to do is look up who’s in town and it’ll show up on Google neatly packaged with a little picture of the royal family of Monaco.” Realistically, Charles knew that. Of course he knew that he was walking the line here, risking everything because he wasn’t truthful with the guy he had just made out with behind some building. But there was no way to subtly drop it now. He couldn’t exactly roll up to Pierre and go “Hey yeah, I forgot to mention but I’m actually a member of the Monegasque royal family. We cool?”.

“Don’t let it ruin your day,” Mick said as he squeezed Charles’ arm. “And don’t blame Callum. He’s right.”

“How do I even tell him, Mick? We made out behind the little wooden building barely an hour ago and I told him I was into him.”

“You’ve really dug a hole for yourself,” Mick said sympathetically. “And now you need to dig yourself out of it. Tell him, Charles, just tell him. He might be mad, he might take it well. You won’t know until you tell him.” And with that, he left Charles alone to help Callum finally beat Juan and Jüri at volleyball. Pierre took his place pretty quickly.

Charles didn’t want to do it today, because today was a near perfect day and he didn’t want to ruin it. But suddenly, his secret felt like a ticking time bomb. Any one of them could say something that seemed off and it would set off the whole chain of events. They all knew, except for Pierre. Charles felt selfish suddenly, asking them all to keep that secret. They shouldn’t have to. Callum seemed to sense his mood and sent him a friendly smile. Charles didn’t blame him, he had kept the secret without asking as well. As Pierre’s friend, he owed Charles no loyalty.

With a groan, Charles remembered he also had that party tonight he needed to attend. He had promised Lorenzo he would, and Arthur would actually kill him if he didn’t show up. God, he was so tired he just wanted to go to bed and sleep for the next two days. “Already bored of us?” Pierre joked.

“Never, just tired,” Charles replied. “And I still have an obligation later tonight I can’t skip or my brother’s going to kill me.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Pierre sighed. “I have to work tonight. Report on some local news, not really a big deal but I have to be there. We should head back soon if I don’t want to be late. I’ll go collect those-” he waved in the general direction of their friends, “and you go get the bags.” He patted Charles’ thigh before getting up. Charles’ stomach was still doing flips by the time they got back to the cars and Pierre insisted Charles ride with him and Callum. Mick joined them as well, telling Jüri that ‘at least someone had a decent car that wasn’t held together with duct-tape’.

The one hour ride flew by and as they pulled over at the square, where Charles and Mick would switch cars, Charles was actually a bit sad the day was over. It had been fantastic to just have this one normal day in the circus that was his life normally. “I’ll text you later,” Pierre said. “Might need some entertainment during work if it’s really as boring as I expect.”

Charles chuckled. “I look forward to it.” There was no way they could’ve kissed subtly without the entire square plus all their friends seeing, but Charles did consider it. And judging by the fact that Pierre’s eyes kept flickering down to his lips, he wasn’t the only one. In the end, they settled for a hug that was neither friendly nor short and a promise to text.

“You know, I didn’t really get what Mick was talking about earlier but I do see it now,” Jüri commented as Charles got into the car. “You’ve got it bad.”

“Spare me the speech of how it’s dangerous and that I need to be honest with him,” Charles mumbled. Jüri gave him a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror.

“Right, we’re going to go home and sleep now,” Juan said quickly, before the silence got unbearable. “What? You’ve got a party to attend and we don’t have to work so I’m afraid we’re just dropping you off. You still have about thirty minutes to get changed and wash the sand out of your hair. I’m pretty sure you’ve brought half the beach with you.” Charles’ only response was to ruffle his hair and immediately regretted it when it rained down sand, covering not only his own lap but also the entire backseat and Mick. Jüri was still muttering when he pulled over about needing to vacuum his entire car.

* * *

Thirty minutes was a surprisingly short time to shower and get ready for a fancy party to greet some of France’s most wealthy people. Arthur grinned when he saw Charles slip into the ballroom with seconds to spare before Lorenzo gave his speech. “Glad you could make it,” he whispered mockingly. Charles elbowed him in the side and pasted a smile on his face. His crown felt heavy, a stupid and silly thing he only wore for official events such as this one. Arthur’s was identical, Lorenzo’s was a bit fancier. He spotted some press to his right but didn’t pay much attention to it as Lorenzo concluded his speech and the music resumed. It was just some mingling, probably for an hour or two before Charles could excuse himself to finally go to bed. He grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and headed over to Antonio, who was positioned by the doors, to chat with him.

Making his way through the crowd, chatting with the people Lorenzo considered important en smiling so much it made his face hurt, it really put the day into perspective. This was his normal, and yet it felt so foreign after a day that had been fantastic. It’s like he forgot how to assume his role as Charles Leclerc, prince of Monaco, and only knew Charles, engineering student. But of course, engineering student wasn’t even real. It had been another lie he had told Pierre to keep up his pretense, to not blow his cover. God, he wished Mick was here so he could discuss it and hope that Mick had an answer for him. Despite being his personal security guard slash babysitter, Mick had really become a close friend and Charles trusted him, wanted his advice.

“Charles, they want a picture for the newspaper,” maman said as she tapped him on the arm gently as Charles excused himself from whatever trivial conversation he’d been in. They collected Arthur on the way to the front of the ballroom, where Lorenzo was already waiting, and posed for a picture together. As Charles smiled for the picture, his eye caught a very familiar face in the crowd of press: Pierre. And Pierre had seen him as well, his face falling immediately and looking confused. As the seconds passed and Charles felt his own smile slip off his face, he witnessed the many thoughts that crossed Pierre’s mind, all displayed on his face. Confusion, irritation, anger, sadness. It was all there and Charles felt his heart drop as it stopped on sadness.

Pierre was leaving, Charles realized, and he would never see him again. Against every etiquette he had ever learned, he sprinted after him. “Pierre!”

The ballroom doors closed behind him, probably leaving maman and Lorenzo in shock at his behavior. A prince, sprinting through the palace? Unheard of, especially at big events like this one. The press would have a field day with it, but Charles didn’t care. He’d deal with that later, he had to fix this first before it all fell apart for good. “Please let me explain.” He barely recognized the tone of his own voice, sounding pleading and a little desperate.

“There’s not much to explain, is there?” Pierre said, finally turning around to face Charles. The pain in his eyes almost made Charles physically recoil. “Was any of it true? Or were you just looking for some fun before returning to your clearly carefree life?”

“I was going to tell you,” Charles started but it sounded empty, even to his own ears. Easy to say when you’ve been caught in a lie, to say you were planning to explain. “You mean something to me.”

Pierre huffed. “How long were you going to let me believe your lies? Am I even allowed to get mad at you? I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with royal etiquette.” He spat out the last two words as if they tasted bad and it cut right through Charles.

“I just wanted to be normal for a while,” Charles said softly and he immediately realized he had made a huge mistake as anger flared up in Pierre’s eyes.

“So you decided your idea of normal was to toy with someone’s feelings and pretend you were an engineering student. And your friends? Were they really your friends or did you hire them?” When Charles didn’t answer, Pierre knew enough. “Right. Well, I suppose it was fun for you while it lasted, I’m sorry I took it too seriously and I hope you have a great life.” And he was gone before Charles could say another word, the door to the gardens slamming shut behind him.

Charles was too afraid of bursting into tears to return to the ballroom so he stood there in the hallway, just breathing for a few minutes. His crown felt a thousand times heavier than it had done earlier and Charles was tempted to throw it across the hallway, maybe feel some satisfaction as it shattered against a wall. He couldn’t, though, it was a family heirloom and it was expensive and he still did have some manners. The ballroom door opened - Lorenzo. “Charles, you cannot just run off during the official press photos! We have obligations!”

“Not now, please, Lorenzo,” Charles pleaded.

It made Lorenzo stop in his tracks. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Can you just tell everyone I’m not feeling well and that I’ve gone to bed?” He rarely got away with this excuse but he must’ve looked so miserable Lorenzo gave in.

“I don’t know what happened but you look like shit. Get some sleep and talk to me when you’re ready, okay?” Charles nodded and inhaled deeply as he held his brother tight for a minute. “Antonio, will you please escort Charles back to his rooms?” A nod from Antonio next to him and a gentle hand on his arm pulled him along.

* * *

Charles wasn’t sure how he had gotten ready for bed but he found himself staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. His phone was on the nightstand, his text conversation with Pierre open and so very tempting. But he needed to let Pierre cool off before even trying to talk to him, or he’d dig himself in even deeper.

How had it all gone so wrong in just a matter of minutes? If he had known that Pierre’s work event tonight was the same party he had to attend, he would’ve made an excuse. But he didn’t know and now it was all fucked up. And to think he was actually going to tell him tomorrow. He had it all planned, he’d text Pierre to meet him at a cafe in town and he would tell him everything. Instead, he would never see Pierre again and he’d be left wondering what could’ve happened if the night had gone differently and he’d have told Pierre on his own terms.

Before Charles knew what he was doing, he had his phone pressed to his ear and he was waiting for Mick to pick up. “Charles, it’s fucking two in the morning,” a very sleepy, very grumpy Mick said. “Why are you calling me at two in the morning.”

“I fucked up,” was all Charles said.

“Yes, I know that. You woke me up, I’d call that a fuck up too.”

“No, Mick, I really fucked up. Pierre knows.” A silence fell as there was some shuffling on the other end of the phone.

“For fuck’s sake,” Mick said, sounding a lot more awake all of a sudden. “I’m guessing you didn’t tell him. Do I need to go commit a murder?”

“No,” Charles said, “unless you want to murder me. His work event was the same event I went to tonight, crown and all. It went as well as you’d expect.”

Mick groaned. “Of all the ways I imagined him finding out, this wasn’t one of them. What do you need?”

“I need you to come with me into town. I hope he’ll be there and I can explain myself because when I tried tonight, it didn’t go very well.” He held his breath as Mick considered it.

“Fine, but only because I know you’re going anyway and I’d rather not let you go by yourself. I’ll pick you up in ten. You better wait for me,” Mick warned as Charles breathed a ‘thank you’ and hung up.

* * *

Despite the fact that it was two in the morning, Mick looked rather put together. He picked Charles up in his shitty Fiesta that Jüri had so many complaints about and drove them into town. “You better not tell Lorenzo about this,” Mick warned him as he looked for a parking spot. It was still busy, as it was a night for going out in the city, so it took some circling around. “He hired me specifically to stop you from sneaking out, I can say goodbye to my job if he knows I helped you.”

“Lorenzo won’t find out,” Charles said, sounding more confident than he felt.

“So what’s the plan here?” Mick asked, finally pulling into a parking space and turning off the car. “You just walk up to him and launch into your explanation as to why you didn’t tell him?”

“That was sort of my plan, yes,” Charles replied. He realized now how stupid it sounded, especially since Pierre was already mad at him and he didn’t really have a great explanation. He hadn’t ever intended for it to go this far or to fall this hard for him. If it had just been a friendship, he could’ve forgotten all about it and gone back home to Monaco at the end of the week without looking back once. But Pierre meant something to him and despite the fact that it was still in early stages, Charles wanted it to be more. And he might never get that chance because he fucked it up so badly.

“You know you just said all of that out loud, right? Just tell him that. Maybe skip the part of forgetting everything about it, that doesn’t sound great. Just be honest with him. Now get your ass out there and fix the mess you’ve made.”

“Great pep talk Mick, thanks,” Charles said sarcastically. “Maybe you’d like to tell me some more about how I’ve fucked up.”

“You’re stalling. Get out there.” As Charles went to close the car door behind him, Mick leaned over. “Charles, it’s going to be fine. And don’t you dare drink any alcohol.”

* * *

He found Pierre in the same bar they’d run into each other the first time, almost three weeks ago now. He’d been drinking, clearly, but he wasn’t absolutely hammered. Charles took it as a good sign, but he wasn’t sure how to approach him. He hadn’t seen Charles yet, but someone else had. “What are you doing here?” Callum asked. It wasn’t hostile but Charles felt very unsure of himself suddenly.

“I wanted to explain,” was what he said. It was a vague sentence at best but Callum had clearly already heard from Pierre what had happened. Callum studied him for a second before putting a hand on his shoulder and steering him outside.

“I don’t think now’s the best time to talk to him,” he said gently. “You’re both upset, he’s drunk, and you’re both going to say things you’ll regret. Give it a few days before you text him and he might be much more open to listening to what you have to say. I’m sorry Pierre had to find out this way, if I knew his work event was a party at the royal vacation home, I would’ve interfered.”

“Thank you,” was the only thing Charles managed to get out.

“I’m not doing it for you,” Callum said with a smile, “Pierre deserves some good in his life and despite this whole mess, I do think you could be that good. So go home, give it some time and come up with a fantastic apology. Maybe bring some flowers, he’s a sucker for that. Roses are his favorite.” And with a friendly pat to the shoulder, Callum disappeared back inside.

“How did it go?” Mick asked a few minutes later, when Charles returned to the car.

“Didn’t speak to him,” Charles mumbled, suddenly exhausted because of everything that happened and wanting nothing more than go to bed. “Callum intercepted me and said maybe now wasn’t the best time.”

Mick considered it for a moment and then nodded. “I guess he’s right. I should’ve thought about that but I’m not exactly awake at two thirty in the morning. Let’s go home.” Thankfully, no one noticed Charles sneaking back into the house as he finally fell into bed, exhausted and no longer unable to sleep. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Charles had given it three days and it were the longest three days of his life. Every ten minutes, he opened his texting conversation with Pierre before remembering Callum’s words and locking his phone with a deep sigh, then repeating the whole thing ten minutes later. He had eaten his way through five tubs of ice cream, to the point where Jüri had wrestled the latest one out of his hands. “I’m the prince of Monaco, you can’t just take my ice cream,” Charles complained.

“I don’t care, I’m your friend, and yes, I can. You’re being a sad sack of shit. Stop eating ice cream and just finally text him,” Jüri exclaimed. Charles looked at Mick hoping for some support but he got none, Mick only raising his eyebrows and keeping his mouth shut. “See, even Mick agrees,” Jüri said smugly. “Seriously, I think three days counts as giving it some time. I’ll even help you come up with a text if you want.” Charles wasn’t sure if he wanted that, since Jüri had the tact and subtlety of an elephant barging into a room full of porcelain, but he took him up on the offer either way.

Surprisingly, the three of them actually came up with a pretty decent text, simply saying ‘Can we talk? I want to explain, properly’. It wasn’t exactly poetic but it got the point across and it got the Mick seal of approval, so Charles pressed send before he could change his mind. He apparently looked so nervous, waiting for a reply, that Jüri returned his tub of ice cream with a pitying look on his face. Pierre replied within 15 minutes, simply stating ‘ok. town square at 8’.

Charles hadn’t expected him to actually reply so he stared at his phone until Jüri grabbed it from him and read the reply out loud to Mick and Juan, who had joined them in the meantime. “That’s not ideal,” Juan said, and then “Ouch, Mick, there was no need to kick me!”

“It could be worse,” Mick said, tactfully ignoring Juan. “He wants to talk to you, so that’s good.”

“Yeah, or kick your ass,” Jüri supplied unhelpfully. “I think we should join you so we can do our job if he has any bad intentions.” Mick disagreed with him, which set off a full on discussion between the three security guards of who should go with Charles to protect him, should there be an attempt on his life.

“Which flowers did Callum say he liked again?” Mick asked over Jüri and Juan’s bickering. “Roses? We’ll stop by the store before we head there.”

In the end, all three of them joined Charles as Mick drove them to the town square in his Fiesta. It had sparked another discussion about whose car to use before Mick threatened to use Jüri’s duct-tape to paste his mouth shut and that had been the end of it. Charles was nervous, the big bouquet of roses in his hands almost obscuring his face and he really wished he could disappear into those flowers right about now. Pierre was waiting on a bench, looking apprehensive as he saw Charles approach. Mick, Jüri and Juan were waiting in Mick’s car around the corner, far enough not to hear anything but close enough to come to his aid, as was their job.

“Hey,” Charles said hesitantly as he stopped in front of Pierre. He couldn’t read anything on the other boy’s face. “I uh, I brought you flowers.” Pierre looked surprised now, taking the flowers from him carefully. “You don’t have to say anything, but please just let me explain.” Charles knew he sounded pretty desperate but he had been thinking about this for three days and if Pierre interrupted him, he might lose his nerve and screw it up again. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry I lied to you. I hadn’t intended to and it got out of hand.” Pierre still hadn’t said a word, toying with the petals on one of the roses, but he hadn’t run off yet either.

“My name is Charles Leclerc, I’m a prince of Monaco and I definitely do not study engineering. And I’m into you. Very much so. And I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you, I freaked out when you said you were a journalist and I thought everything I had done so far was going to end up in the papers. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. I understand if you never want to see me again, but I hope you do. We’re going back to Monaco in a few days but I can probably convince Mick to drive me out here once in a while. Again, I’m very sorry.” It was a long monologue and Charles wasn’t sure how many times he had apologized by now, but it must’ve been too many.

Hesitantly, he got up. “I’ll leave you to it.” He was already five steps away when there was a hand on his shoulder.

“Hold up,” Pierre said with a sigh. He held out his hand, waiting for Charles to shake it. “I’m Pierre Gasly and I’m a journalist. And I’m into you. Start over?”

Fuck it, Charles thought. It was almost dark out, there was no one around and he didn’t care anymore. And right there, in the middle of the town, he kissed Pierre.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://callumilott.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Sidenote: This might get a second chapter since I kinda left it on a cliffhanger, but don't hold your breath.


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